Letters to Writers

Dear Jonathan Swift...

Ian Sansom writes an imaginary letter to Jonathan Swift and interrogates him about his art

• 15 mins

Letters to Writers

Dear George Eliot...

Novelist Ian Sansom pens a missive to George Eliot...

• 15 mins

Letters to Writers

Dear Virginia Woolf...

A letter of apology to Virginia Woolf from novelist Ian Sansom.

• 15 mins

Letters to Writers

Dear Agatha Christie...

Novelist Ian Sansom has a theory to put to the Queen of Crime.

• 15 mins

The Mabinogion Revisited

An Introduction to the Mabinogion

Professor Sioned Davies introduces the early medieval Welsh tales of the Mabinogion.

• 15 mins

The Mabinogion Revisited

James Hawes

Author James Hawes discusses what the Mabinogion can teach us about storytelling.

• 15 mins

The Mabinogion Revisited

Gwyneth Lewis on the Tale of Blodeuwedd

Gwyneth Lewis reflects on the tale of Blodeuwedd: a woman conjured entirely of flowers.

• 15 mins

The Mabinogion Revisited

Jon Gower on the Role of Nature

What the Mabinogion stories can teach us about the role of nature in the Celtic mind.

• 15 mins

The Mabinogion Revisited

Horatio Clare on Lludd and Llefelys

Horatio Clare discusses the 12th-century tale of Lludd and Llefelys from the Mabinogion.

• 15 mins

Between the Essays

Prelude

Sophie Townsend explores what beginnings might be found when everything has ended.

• 15 mins

Between the Essays

Fugue

Michael Umney with a poetic exploration of the countryside, farming and false nostalgia.

• 15 mins

Between the Essays

Menuet

A musical radio piece about the empty space between people who were once very close.

• 15 mins

Between the Essays

Pavane

Sindre Leganger discusses living near a Norwegian mountain said to be about to collapse.

• 15 mins

Changing My Mind

Memory

Author Julian Barnes explores ideas of vacillation, uncertainty and memory.

• 15 mins

Changing My Mind

Words

Julian Barnes on how he uses words, asking what did they ever mean and what they mean now.

• 15 mins

Changing My Mind

Politics

Author Julian Barnes discusses his changing views about politics over the years.

• 15 mins

Changing My Mind

Books

Julian Barnes on his changing views about books and their authors, especially EM Forster.

• 15 mins

Changing My Mind

Time

Author Julian Barnes considers whether his perception of time has changed over the years.

• 15 mins

Christmas Close Up

New Life

John Wyatt on the fragility of new life and working on a neonatal ward at Christmas.

• 15 mins

Christmas Close Up

Star of Wonder

Space scientist Monica Grady reflects on the symbolic power of the Star of Bethlehem.

• 15 mins

Christmas Close Up

Nativity Characters - Beyond the Christian Story

What Jesus and Mary represent to Muslims beyond the story of the Incarnation.

• 15 mins

Christmas Close Up

Black Magus

Theologian Robert Beckford reflects on the magi as a symbol of cultural inclusion.

• 15 mins

Christmas Close Up

Holy Innocents

The resonance of the Feast of the Holy Innocents for Christians in the Middle East.

• 15 mins

Breaking Free

Sarah Walker

Sarah Walker on learning and playing Schoenberg's Suite for Piano, Op 25, for her MA.

• 15 mins

Breaking Free

Stephen Johnson

Stephen Johnson discusses Schoenberg's String Quartet No 2.

• 15 mins

Breaking Free

Gillian Moore

Gillian Moore talks about Alban Berg's relationships with the women in his life.

• 15 mins

Breaking Free

Tom McKinney

Tom McKinney on his 'first contact' with the music of Webern: Five Pieces for Orchestra.

• 15 mins

Breaking Free

Bethany Bell

Journalist Bethany Bell on living in Modling, a town near Vienna where Schoenberg lived.

• 15 mins

Cornerstones

Quartz

Linda Cracknell reflects on the appeal of the quartz on Ben Lawers, her local Munro.

• 15 mins

Cornerstones

Millstone

Poet Helen Mort reflects on the Peak District's Stanage Edge, famed for its millstone grit

• 15 mins